While laboratories have long been associated with introductory physics courses, there is doubt as to whether they positively impact student learning. Holmes and Wieman found that students who elected to take optional laboratories fared no better across a range of metrics than their counterparts who did not participate. In addition, these…

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are key partners in the education of undergraduates. Given the potentially large impact GTAs can have on undergraduate student learning, it is important to provide them with appropriate preparation for teaching. But GTAs are students themselves, and not all of them desire to pursue an academic career. Fully…

The purpose of this paper is to describe a three-year limited-run offer of an energy science certificate in the University of Hawaii at Hilo campus, along with lessons learned that can be of use to other institutions considering comparable programs. Energy science is a loosely defined discipline that traditionally straddles physics and mechanical,…

This article is organized around describing a pair of resources developed to support student and teacher use of the instructional model Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) in the classroom and incorporate writing as a meaningful part of their science instruction. Project LISTO developed and put the Scaffolding Scientific Explanations (SSE)…

Science popularisation festivals attract more and more people every year, showing that there is a need to satisfy public curiosity. Such events are good occasions to disseminate knowledge to a large audience. The results of scientific research bring advances for mankind. Since research mostly depends on public funds, it is important to gain…

This chapter describes how faculty from the "teach"HOUSTON program and physics department collaborated to increase the number of highly qualified physics teachers. Prior to this collaboration, the University had not produced even one physics teacher graduate in the previous decade. A physics teacher education pathway has been established…

Constructing Direct Current (DC) electric circuits is simple and engaging for primary students, but that is not all there is to learning about electricity. Mandatory learning in the Australian Curriculum: Science (ACARA, 2018) expects Year 6 students to explain some of the processes underlying electric circuits. The abstract nature of key…

On August 21, 2017, sky gazers all across North America will experience a total solar eclipse, arguably the most breathtaking of all astronomical phenomena. The August eclipse is an ideal astronomical event to observe with young children because it allows them to observe a powerful and easily accessible astronomical phenomenon. Observing…

Advances in biodesign, in which principles of engineering and technology are applied to the life sciences, are moving out of laboratories and into daily life. However, they have not made their way into K-12 classrooms. Today's students need to become familiar with biotechnologies so that they can make informed decisions about how they will be…

Science and storytelling have an uneasy relationship. The scientific community frequently disdains stories, seeing them as polluting the purity of objective communication of data. In the peer-review process, for example, scientists who tell stories with their data are seen as "embellish[ing] and conceal[ing] information to evoke a response in…

Service-learning college courses and service-learning components of traditional courses combine discipline-specific learning objectives with service activities in the community. "Chemistry Discovery" is a one-unit service-learning course focused on chemistry outreach at the University of Arizona. In a collaborative learning environment,…

Since the schools in the United Kingdom (UK) closed to most pupils in March 2020 to try to stop the spread of COVID-19, the internet has delivered a flood of materials for 'home-schooling'. Finding the most appropriate resources has been overwhelming for teachers and parents alike. The majority of pupils in the UK (71.3-85.1%, depending on region)…

Increasingly, undergraduate institutions are incorporating original research into the curriculum as a matter of best practice. However, while the practice of science has grown more collaborative, undergraduate research has remained largely confined to single-institution studies. Incorporating long-term, distributed research projects into the…

"Citizen science" gives students a unique opportunity to engage with their own research, as well as data collected by other citizen scientists. Often, citizen science projects focus on students collecting and submitting data for scientists, which can sometimes limit opportunities to engage in the entire scientific process. This article…

In 2016, professors representing Biology, Dance, Music, and Theatre and dance program students created "Dunes," a performance piece that depicts the ecological succession of Michigan's sand dunes. The process used to make this work is a direct representation of the steps that Team Hyena Puppet, a collective of teaching artists and…